Homemade Peppermint Marshmallows

I’ve been a marshmallow making machine since I first crossed that bridge a couple months ago. Hubby loves them and they’re seriously SO EASY to make. If you haven’t made marshmallows yet, there is no better time than right now.

I used the same recipe I always use, but swapped out the vanilla for some peppermint extract. I also added a few drops of red food coloring to swirl into the marshmallows for a fun candy-cane look. Then I bagged these up to give in our gift bags with our hot cocoa mix.

Directions:

Place the gelatin into the bowl of a stand mixer along with 1/2 cup of the water. Have the whisk attachment standing by.

In a small saucepan combine the remaining 1/2 cup water, granulated sugar, corn syrup and salt. Place over medium high heat, cover and allow to cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Uncover, clip a candy thermometer onto the side of the pan and continue to cook until the mixture reaches 240 degrees F, approximately 7 to 8 minutes. Once the mixture reaches this temperature, immediately remove from the heat.

Turn the mixer on low speed and, while running, slowly pour the sugar syrup down the side of the bowl into the gelatin mixture. Once you have added all of the syrup, increase the speed to high. Continue to whip until the mixture becomes very thick and is lukewarm, approximately 12 to 15 minutes. Add the peppermint extract during the last minute of whipping. While the mixture is whipping prepare the pans as follows.
Combine the confectioners' sugar and cornstarch in a small bowl. Lightly spray a 13 by 9-inch metal baking pan with nonstick cooking spray. Add the sugar and cornstarch mixture and move around to completely coat the bottom and sides of the pan. Return the remaining mixture to the bowl for later use.

When ready, pour the mixture into the prepared pan, using a lightly oiled spatula for spreading evenly into the pan. Drop red food coloring onto marshmallows and use a toothpick to swirl the food coloring into the marshmallows. Dust the top with enough of the remaining sugar and cornstarch mixture to lightly cover. Reserve the rest for later. Allow the marshmallows to sit uncovered for at least 4 hours and up to overnight.

Turn the marshmallows out onto a cutting board and cut into 1-inch squares using a pizza wheel dusted with the confectioners' sugar mixture. Once cut, lightly dust all sides of each marshmallow with the remaining mixture, using additional if necessary. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 weeks.

these are the prettiest marshmellows I have ever seen. you could make them for every winter season (throw some sparkles in for news years, green for st pattys. pastels for easter!) oh the possibilities.

These are beautiful! I have made marshmallows a few times, and only once have I had a problem with them.. I put them into an airtight container and came back about an hour later to find that they had been – at least what it looked like to me – weeping. I’m not sure what happened, I dusted them with powdered sugar after cutting, and thought I did everyting right. I was curious if anything like that has that happened to you before? These marshmallows look like perfection!

I have never had that problem myself. It sounds like there may have been a lot of humidity in the air? Was it during the summer? I haven’t made marshmallows during the summer yet, but that’s the first thing that pops to mind.

Important pre-holiday question: how big are the gift bags you use for your marshmallows &/or hot cocoa mix? I’m looking at the “smalls” from KA (14.5″ x 6″), but I really have zero intuition for how that size translates to volume of, e.g, marshmallows. =) thanks!

beantownbaker — November 8th, 2011 @ 8:26 am

Great question. I will have to go home and check the size of the bags. I know I got them at Michaels. The marshmallows went into small bags that were almost a smidge too small and the hot cocoa went into larger bags. I’m sure that isn’t very helpful… Let me get back to you on that.

beantownbaker — December 19th, 2011 @ 9:00 pm

Ok I didn’t have any of the bags left. Both of them were Wilton brand from Michaels craft store. Based on what I see online, it looks like the marshmallows were in a bag that was 3″x4″. They were a smidge small. The cocoa mix was in a bigger bag, looks like 4″x6″ and those were just the right size.

I’m not sure what I did wrong but these were a total disaster! The marshmallow wouldn’t pour out of the bowl and seemed like it had already begun to set by the time I was taking it out (even though I only kept it in the mixer for about 13 minutes). Do you think they were in the mixer for too long? I was going by timing as well as thick/lukewarm but maybe it was still too long. The bit of them that I could get into the pan wouldn’t spread so I couldn’t even use what I had because they would have been horribly shaped and not gift-worthy. I ended up having to just dump everything in the trash. I’m so disappointed because I was really looking forward to an easy homemade gift for co-workers.

beantownbaker — December 19th, 2011 @ 8:59 pm

So sorry to hear that they didn’t turn out for you 🙁

LadyPerson — January 1st, 2012 @ 12:58 am

You probably cooked the sugar syrup too long. I bet if you’d let them fully set, you’d have ended up with harder than normal marshmallows. Check your candy thermometer to make sure it’s accurate.

Sounds like you didn’t cook the sugar syrup long enough. They MUST get to the proper temperature, or the marshmallows won’t set properly. If the syrup didn’t cook enough, the resulting marshmallow will be too soft and won’t hold it’s shape properly. Cook it too long, and the marshmallows will be too hard when you want fluffy.

Jenny K., Colorado — November 29th, 2012 @ 3:04 pm

I would like to add that when cooking candy to a certain temperature, you must take into account your altitude. I have not made these yet, but will adjust to my own 6,000 feet in altitude. For example, when making English Toffee, I adjust 8 degrees LOWER for the target temperature. Otherwise, it overcooks.You can Google “altitude adjustments for candy making” .

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I am Jen the Beantown Baker. Engineer by day and baking maven by night. Hubby serves as my #1 fan and official taste tester. We got hitched back in 2006. Barefoot. In the sand. With the waves crashing behind us. It was one of the best decisions we’ve ever made. (more)

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